


A small confession

by what_a_dork_fish



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Fluff, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 09:43:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16532129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/what_a_dork_fish/pseuds/what_a_dork_fish
Summary: Eddie and Venom are getting used to each other.





	A small confession

**Author's Note:**

> So many liberties were taken. SO many. But I saw Venom a couple days ago and as soon as the movie was done, I thought:
> 
> "This is absolutely going to be an Honorary Fandom."
> 
> (Also I haven't read any other Venom fics this is just a first foray whoops)

“I can’t fucking go anywhere with you.”

No one even blinks as Eddie mutters to himself, mashed in the corner of the cablecar. He’s got a reputation now. Venom thinks this is hilarious. Eddie does not.

**I’m starving, Eddie. STARVING. We must eat soon.**

Eddie glances around furtively and whispers as angrily and quietly as he can, “Listen, parasite—“

**NOT PARASITE**

“—if we eat anyone else so soon after the last guy we’re going to get found out. Now shut up and let me think.”

He gets the feeling Venom is sulking, but that’s fine, as long as he’s not fucking talking. Eddie is going to meet up with Annie and Dan at a sushi place because he’s got a taste for fish now that he never did before. ( **Raw is not as good as living.** “Shut up, parasite, this is what we’re getting.” **Hmph.** ) It’ll be nice to talk to them again. He still loves Annie, but it’s different now. He’s letting go. And Dan is a good guy. Venom doesn’t like him, but Venom doesn’t like anyone. Except Eddie and Annie and Mrs. Chen.

Thinking about people makes Venom hungry. So Eddie thinks about sushi. Raw may not be as good as living, but it’s better than cooked. That’s why he buys “treats” at a reputable butcher’s—cheap raw meat, about to turn, that he takes home and eats on good days. Sushi is even more of a treat, because it’s far more flavorful. Venom won’t admit that he prefers it, but Eddie’s gotten much better at interpreting his grumbles, and he really does complain less when they gorge on fish.

Eddie feels a too-warm snake of a feeling creep up his neck, like moving sunlight, and hook around the back of his ear to whisper right inside it, **Eddie, that man across from us looks very tasty. Can we eat him?**

Eddie glances up. The man in question is staring at the young woman next to Eddie. She has her headphones on, so she can’t hear Eddie whispering to himself, but she obviously knows she’s being watched, because she is tense and staring solidly at her phone in her lap, her face expressionless. Eddie looks back at the creepy man and stares at him. The man glances at him, then does a double take. They’re in the very back, so Venom creeps up to take over the side of Eddie’s face not visible to the other riders, and they smile at the creep together.

Creep pales immediately, terror on his face. Before he can scream, Venom vanishes, and Eddie stops smiling. He doesn’t stop staring.

It’s a very stupid thing to do, but Creep jumps to his feet, and tries to run for the door—but he trips, and falls on his face, garnering surprised looks.

**Let’s scare him a little more,** Venom suggests gleefully.

Eddie gives in and stands, faking vague concern. “Hey, man, you alright?” he asks, grabbing Creep’s arm and hauling him to his feet. Creep tries to jerk away, but his feet slip again. Eddie’s been going to the gym a lot, lately, so he doesn’t drop him. He does shove him back to his seat again, and also sits down. Venom’s snickering is loud in Eddie’s head.

“Shouldn’t jump off when we’re moving,” Eddie tells him cheerfully. “Pretty dangerous. You new around here?”

Creep is staring at him like he’s going to bite off his head— **Eddie Eddie please he looks so deliciousssssss** —but he shakes said head jerkily. “N-no,” he stammers, “I—A-aren’t you Eddie Brock?”

“The one and only,” Eddie answers with a carefree smile. Everybody in the cable car is sneaking glances at them both, because _everyone_ knows not to talk to Eddie when he’s just been talking to himself. Usually he’s pretty spacy, because his talks are usually arguing with Venom, which always leaves him tired, but when he acts like this…

Creep tries to smile, but it’s nervous and he’s still pale. Eddie can almost feel him telling himself that he was seeing things.

Venom is hissing that he’s hungry again. Eddie is seriously contemplating letting him have this meal.

“Um—I really like your work,” Creep says, a little weakly.

**Liar,** Venom hisses gleefully.

“Oh, really? Thanks.” Eddie keeps his tone light. “I’m doing a piece on harassment, maybe you’d like to give an interview.”

The girl next to Eddie looks up, startled, then looks down again, her expression mystified, but also curious.

Creep frowns, and he’s sweating now. “Uh. H-harassment?”

“Yes. Specifically street harassment. You know, catcalling, following women around, being a creep on public transport, that kind of thing.”

Creep is pretty obviously terrified again. Eddie leans forward, bracing his elbows on his knees, and smiles a little wider. “So, is it like a power-trip?” he asks, in his friendliest tone. “Do you get off on scaring women?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Creep blusters, “I don’t harass women!”

“Ah, okay. Coulda fooled me.” Eddie gives one last smile and leans back again, looking out the window and feeling a bit of glee from scaring that guy so much. Venom is rubbing off on him.

**I should hope so. Hey, Eddie, can we eat our annoying neighbor?**

~

Dinner goes well and Venom doesn’t talk much, just grumbles about how raw isn’t as good as living. Eddie tunes it out. He’s getting good at that.

Annie offers him a ride home, but Eddie politely says no thank you, he’ll just walk. He can feel Venom perk up. Usually, when they walk, they find someone who deserves eating.

Annie has caught on to this, actually. She narrows her eyes at Eddie, but nods and smiles and says goodbye. Eddie waves to her and Dan, before turning, tucking his hands in his pockets, and ambling down the street.

**Eddie, let’s go on the rooftops, it’s faster.**

“Shut up,” Eddie mutters, but it’s more affectionate exasperation than real annoyance. He’s full of good food, he just had a nice meal with friends, and he got to scare some asshole. He feels like being nice. He’s never going to get used to the feeling of Venom squirming gleefully under his skin, though.

They pass through several neighborhoods. As the night deepens, Venom grows more restless. He runs tiny tendrils down Eddie’s arms to wrap around his fingers, hidden in Eddie’s pockets. More tendrils wrap around his neck, lightly, like a fleece band, perhaps. The heat is nice now that the temperature is dropping. Eddie makes his way towards a neighborhood that really isn’t safe, not even for families that have lived there for generations. Venom covers his arms now, shifting subtly under his sleeves, and wraps around his legs. It used to be stifling, being enveloped like this, but now it’s kind of just like an all-over hug. Venom does not like this comparison.

**It’s demeaning, Eddie.**

“Whatever you say,” he murmurs.

**Hmph. You’re lucky I—like you.**

Eddie tilts his head and frowns to himself. Venom does that sometimes, cuts himself off and changes his words and tone. It’s confusing.

A scream down an alley. Eddie’s head wrenches around, as Venom hisses fierce joy.

**FOOD!**

No one else pays attention, but Eddie quickly crosses the street and jogs to the alley, peering down it. There’s three figures bent around another, who is fighting and making stifled noises. Eddie saunters down the alley. Shadows enfold him. And something else, too. Venom unfurls, swallowing Eddie’s body whole, and it’s through eyes that see far beyond ultraviolet (and yet curiously can’t see the color yellow) that Eddie spies their prey.

Three white men surrounding a Chinese girl. That’s suspicious enough, in this part of the city. But her obvious terror around her gag, and the way they are grinning cruelly, is even more suspicious.

Venom sneaks up very close while the men struggle to hold her still, and almost coos, **Look what we have here. Such a sad sight.**

The men scream and drop the girl, but Venom grabs two in his hands and the third with a tentacle from his chest, and pulls them in close. Eddie can feel Venom smiling. He watches with interest as Venom scares the shit out of them, and then eats them. Venom has a good grasp on what is wrong behavior for humans, and he told Eddie once that he likes human women. He will eat them, if Eddie says it’s okay, but they’re far more interesting than human men. Besides Eddie. Venom had been very firm on that, for some reason.

But anyway. The men are gone without a single drop of blood wasted, and Venom sinks back into Eddie’s skin, happily digesting. Eddie is never off-balance when that happens anymore. He crouches by the girl and asks politely, “Can I take your gag off? I won’t hurt you.”

She is staring at him, obviously horrified beyond words, but she nods jerkily. He reaches out and unknots the gag. She bursts into tears, and begins babbling in Mandarin. Eddie has a good idea that it’s mostly pleas for him not to eat her. He waits until she stops to gulp air, then tells her, “I’m really sorry, my friend is teaching me Mandarin, but I’m not very fluent yet. Can you speak English?”

The girl nods, then whispers, in heavily accented but clear English, “Please do not hurt me.”

“I won’t. Do you need help getting that rope off?” He nods to the rope clumsily tied around her wrists. They didn’t do a good job, she was fighting back too much, but he has a feeling it’s still tough to get out of them.

“You are Eddie Brock,” she says suddenly.

“Uh, yeah, that’s me.” He gives a quick smile.

“You did the report on homelessness in Chinatown.”

“Yes.”

She stares, her fear draining into curiosity. “They did not tell me you were possessed,” she comments.

**NOT POSSESSED**

Eddie winces. “Uh, I’m not, not really.” He clears his throat (Venom wraps a tendril firmly around his neck, under his collar), and asks again, “Do you need help with the rope?”

She holds out her hands slowly. There are bruises on her arms that are too old to be from the men who grabbed her. Eddie frowns, but takes out his penknife to saw through the rope.

**No, no, Eddie. Like this.** Venom forms a blade around his finger, a small one, but quite obvious. The girl’s eyes widen again.

“Sorry,” Eddie sighs, and slices the rope neatly. The blade disappears. “Anything broken? Cracked? Do you need the hospital?”

“No. Thank you.” She stands, slowly, and he stands with her. He does not offer to walk her home; he knows that’s out of the question. She just saw him eat three people. She’s right to be afraid, though it makes him sad. “M-my home is not far. I can get there.”

Eddie nods. “Alright. I hope your night goes easier.”

She nods. “Thank you,” she whispers. Then she walks quickly, to the street. Eddie does not follow. She does check, looking over her shoulder at him, before hurrying away.

Eddie scratches his head, feeling odd. He always does when Venom eats someone in front of witnesses. On the one hand, he knows that none of them will be believed. On the other… how many nightmares are they going to have? How traumatized are they, that a larger than life monster ate another human being in front of them?

**Not a monster,** Venom grumps.

“I know,” Eddie murmurs. Venom’s not the monster. If Eddie tried, if he really, truly tried, he could keep Venom on a leash. He knows that. But he doesn’t. Eddie wonders if that makes him the monster.

Venom wraps himself around Eddie’s arms and torso, squeezing gently. Eddie looks down, surprised, though he can’t see it under his shirt.

**You’re not a monster either.**

He swallows hard. “Damn it, Venom,” he whispers. “You fucking parasite.”

His only answer is another gentle squeeze, like a hug.

~

For the next few days, Venom is quiescent. It’s not just that he’s fed well, though that’s a large part of it; he also feels… pensive. Eddie is just grateful they’re not arguing constantly at the moment. He needs to focus.

He’s been getting back into the swing of things, doing small journalistic jobs here and there. His name always sells well, because he was at the heart of the whole Life Foundation debacle (he can’t even think that man’s name without a surge of rage that even Venom is wary of), and more people are listening to him again. It’s nice that he’s allowed to expand. And he got a nice big settlement from what’s left of the Life Foundation that he can coast on for a bit, if he’s careful.

He went to Skirth’s funeral. Her family was furious with him, so he stayed at the back and said nothing, but he couldn’t help the pang of guilt and grief. She had done what was right, and paid for it. Her family would be paying for it until the day they died too.

Venom hadn’t understood, but he hadn’t said anything, either.

Eddie finishes his latest article and saves the file, then stretches his arms and back with a groan. “You in there, bud?” he asks.

**Yes.**

“What’re you thinking so hard about?”

Silence. Eddie frowns. Usually Venom loves talking about his thoughts. He’s a borderline narcissist, which is odd considering he’s such a goddamn loser. This silence is strange. It makes Eddie uneasy.

**You needn’t be frightened, Eddie.** Venom is unusually quiet and sober. **It is nothing that endangers you.**

“Okay, but what about other people?”

Another silence. Eddie scowls. That means others are in trouble. They are really going to have to work on communicating.

“God, we should go to a marriage counselor or something,” Eddie mutters.

**NO**

The force behind Venom’s refusal makes Eddie fall off his chair, it’s so strong. He lays on his back, staring at the ceiling, trying to catch his breath. Venom crawls over his shoulder and forms his face in front of Eddie, his usual nightmare grin making way for a gruesome nightmare snarl.

**NEVER SAY THAT WORD AGAIN,** he commands audibly, his voice rumbling with deep tones that make the surrounding objects and surfaces shiver.

“What, counselor?” Eddie gasps, feeling a fear he remembers all too well coiling in his gut.

  1. **THE OTHER ONE.** And then Venom retreats, hiding beneath his skin once more. Eddie gulps air, getting his fear under control. Strange, how he keeps forgetting the utter terror Venom’s face evokes. Eddie’s shaking, he feels cold, and his stomach is roiling. It’s like when he’s forced to look at too tall a height.



**I don’t like that word,** Venom grumbles in his head.

“The M word?” Eddie asks unsteadily.

**Yes.**

“Okay.” Eddie is getting himself under control again. He gets up, shakily, and stumbles to the fridge. He needs a beer.

His hand stops a few inches away from the fridge handle. **You don’t need alcohol. You drank too much last night.**

He scowls. This is an old argument, and the familiarity of it helps ground him. “You just don’t appreciate a good beer,” he retorts, and pushes through Venom’s grip to open the fridge and reach inside.

**Beer is disgusting. Alcohol is disgusting. It _burns_ , Eddie.**

“It’s supposed to.” But then he stops, beer in hand. Burns. Fire. His weakness. If it feels like that, no wonder he hates it. Slowly, he puts the beer back.

Indistinct grumbling, but it’s not as tight and angry as it would be if he actually drank it. He sighs and resigns himself to no beer for a while. This is an odd mood Venom has fallen in to. He can’t say it’s worse than constant arguing, but it’s still strange.

That night is very odd, mostly because Venom is restless. It’s always disturbing, that shifting under his skin, inside his flesh. Eddie squirms in bed, trying to find a good sleeping position, but the feeling is maddening, so finally he lays flat on his back and snaps, “What is _wrong_ with you tonight?”

No answer. He’s about to give up and try to sleep, when Venom asks, **What does human love feel like?**

Eddie frowns at the ceiling. “You’re the one in my head. You can find it yourself.”

**No. Tell me.**

Eddie groans, but attempts to comply. “It’s… it feels like… well, there’s lots of different love, and they all interact with each other. What kind do you want to know about?”

**What kind of love drives… the M-word?**

He winces. “Damn, you don’t want much, do you? Well… there’s a lot of different loves that go into ma—the M-word. The main two are friendship and romance, though. Not necessarily _together_ , but…” He trails off, thinking of… no. He gets back on track. “Anyway. Friendship is when you meet someone and connect. It doesn’t happen immediately, but usually you can tell if you’re going to be friends with someone after about four hours of their company. You share common ground, and you’re compatible—“

**Like us?**

“Uh… no. Not like us.”

**Oh. Carry on.**

“Um. Well, friendship is basically finding a sibling you’re not related to, if you can imagine that.”

**My brothers tried to eat me three times.**

“Oh. Not like your siblings, then. Friends protect each other.”

**Inefficient.**

Eddie can’t help a smile. “Only you would call protecting someone ‘inefficient’.”

**What is romance?**

Eddie pauses, trying to get his thoughts in order. He wants to wax poetic. He wants to gush. But he doesn’t think Venom will understand. “It’s… beautiful. It’s like being home and safe, wherever you are physically, because you’re with the person you love. It’s exciting, but it’s also comforting and calming. Loving someone romantically is like… like tearing out your heart and giving it to them, only it’s okay, because the love for them fills that hole and warms you. And when they love you back, it’s wonderful. It’s like exchanging hearts. You carry each other in your minds and it makes you happy.”

He didn’t do a good job with the not waxing or gushing, but he doesn’t know how else to describe it. Venom is quiet. Eddie’s heart aches from remembering—but then he wonders if Venom’s ever loved. If his species has the right chemicals and the right brain sections and the right words. Maybe he doesn’t.

**We have something similar,** Venom tells him softly. **It is rare. I don’t think I have ever felt it.**

“Oh. Well. I guess you’re not missing much, because falling out of love is a bitch,” Eddie admits.

**Ah. Eddie?**

“Yeah?”

**Do you currently love anyone romantically?**

“No, why?”

**Just asking.** And Venom stops shifting. Eddie wonders, but he’s too tired to bug him, so he falls asleep just fine.

~

He wakes up and Venom’s face is hovering over him.

He opens his mouth to scream in fear, but then a thick rope of goop lands across his face, blocking the noise. His breath whines out through his nose. After a moment, the fear ebbs, and he relaxes, annoyed. Venom withdraws the tentacle over his mouth.

“You asshole!” Eddie snarls, “Give me some warning next time!”

Venom narrows his eyes, but says nothing. Eddie closes his own peepers and rubs them fiercely, then sighs and sits up. Venom’s face moves with him.

**You have an appointment tonight,** Venom reminds him.

“Yeah. Yeah. Thanks, bud.” Eddie rolls out of bed and stumbles to the bathroom. Venom sinks back under his skin.

The day is quiet. Eddie lazes in bed after his shower, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. Then he goes for a walk. He should probably go to the gym, but walking is fine, too. Venom seems to like walking. At least, when Eddie is out and about and not chasing leads, he is quieter. Meaning he doesn’t whine about being hungry so much.

**Eddie. I want chocolate.**

“Not now, bud,” Eddie murmurs, stopping at a corner for the cross light to turn. The old couple next to him glance up and shift away. He pretends not to notice.

Usually, Venom will argue. He will get cranky and mutter and threaten to eat children (he never does). But today he doesn’t. Eddie frowns and tugs his collar. Venom sneaks a tendril up over his shoulder and wraps it around his finger for a moment, then recedes.

Weird. Something’s really bugging him. He’ll tell Eddie eventually.

Eddie goes down to visit Mrs. Chen because he needs some stuff, and maybe he can bribe Venom to tell him what’s up with some of that expensive chocolate that Eddie usually never touches. Also he just wants to chat with her. She has never spoken to him about what transpired that day, but she does side-eye him a bit. He doesn’t act any different.

He sees the spot where Maria used to camp, and his throat tightens. But he forces himself to remember the banter, the faint smile on her face, and he can almost forget the animal desperation and fury with which she attacked him. Almost.

Venom shifts under his skin, but says nothing.

“Hey, Mrs. Chen,” Eddie calls as he steps inside the shop. “How are you doing?”

“You don’t look like shit. Amazing.”

Eddie grins at her deadpan tone, seeing the faint approval on her face. “And you’re looking lovely as always. How’s your cousin?”

“He’s fine,” Mrs. Chen replies, leaning on the counter. “I did not restock on that beer you bought out last time.”

“Eh, it’s fine. I’m cutting down anyway. I’m really cravin’ chocolate, do you have any of that fancy shit left?”

**Chocolate?!**

“Yes.” She hesitates, and he waits, intrigued. Then Mrs. Chen sighs. “Eddie, my neighbor’s daughter came home two weeks ago with a wild story about being accosted by ruffians, and then saved by a monster. The description was… familiar.”

Eddie feels a pang of guilt. “Oh?”

Mrs. Chen smiles very faintly. “You’ve got a terrible poker face, Eddie,” she tells him. Then the smile fades. “That was you, wasn’t it? Or your… parasite.”

“Well.” Eddie shoves his hands in his pockets. Venom wraps tendrils around his wrists, a warm and steady pressure. “What do you believe?”

Her mouth tightens. Her eyes are troubled as she replies, “I don’t want to believe it was you. But I think it was.”

Eddie nods, looking down at his shoes for a moment. Then he looks up again and fakes a smile. But she’s right; his poker face is shit. He tries anyway. “It might’ve been, and it might not have. Please don’t worry.”

“Eddie, she has been terrified to go out after the streetlights come on since that night.”

He does not flinch. He wills himself not to flinch. His will has gotten much stronger, fighting with Venom so much. “I…” He can’t think of what to say, though. He knew it. He needs to stop this, it’s getting out of hand. “Please tell her I said sorry, and I know that won’t help, but… I really am sorry.”

Mrs. Chen stares him down. He does not squirm like a child, and he tries his best not to look _too_ miserable, because then she’ll think he’s faking it. But he does try to show that he is sincere in his apology.

Venom wraps a tendril around his neck. It should be frightening; Venom has strangled many people now. But it’s comforting, feeling like he isn’t alone. Turning to a ravenous alien for company. How low thee hath sunk, Edward.

Mrs. Chen sees the tendril, and her eyes widen. Eddie clears his throat, and Venom retreats. It’s nice that they have unspoken signals, now.

**Eddie, you have a meeting soon.**

He blinks, and takes a deep breath. “So… is there anything else?” he asks. “Will… will she be okay?”

“Time will tell,” Mrs. Chen replies stiffly, still staring at his neck. “Get your chocolate.”

Eddie nods and goes to get his chocolate.

He eats it slowly on the way home, savoring it for Venom’s sake. He has a suspicion that Venom can’t taste sweets with his own tongue, which is why he loves them so much when he’s in hiding. Venom says nothing at all while they walk. It’s a change. An unnerving one. Eddie’s gotten used to Venom’s biting commentary, and he kind of misses it.

His neighbor is in the hall. He sees Eddie approaching, and flees within his own apartment. Eddie shakes his head with a sigh. It’s nice that the guy doesn’t play his music too loud anymore, but it’s wearying how he runs away every time he glimpses Eddie.

The suit is new and still a little stiff, but Eddie is comfortable enough in it. He hasn’t had a properly fitted suit in years. He showers again and dries off thoroughly before putting it on. He doesn’t want to ruin it with sweat.

**Eddie, why are you dressing in this confining thing?**

Eddie smiles, pleased that Venom has decided to speak again (and a little worried about that pleasure). “I’m going to that meeting,” he replies. He tried to explain earlier that it wasn’t a _meeting_ per se, but it _was_ to do with work, but Venom hadn’t really seemed to care, so he’d just left it at that. “It’s gonna be classy, so it’d be nice if you didn’t talk about eating people, but it’s also gonna be pretty damn boring.”

**I can survive boring.**

Eddie hesitates with one arm in the sleeve of his jacket. “You alright, bud?” he asks.

**Why do you call me “bud”?** Venom counters.

“Bud. It’s short for buddy. It’s what you call someone you know well.”

**You don’t know me.**

Eddie looks at the clock. Half an hour. He takes his arm out of the jacket, sits down on the sofa, and says, “Then tell me about yourself, Venom.”

Venom goes very still. Eddie hadn’t really noticed that Venom was always moving slightly, but now he notices, and it makes him… uneasy. What else has he just accepted and never thought about?

**What do you want to know?**

“Oh… let’s start with what your family was like.”

**I was the runt. I told you my brothers tried to eat me. Well, my… you would call them “father”, but that’s not quite what they were. My father left me in the desert to die. My… I suppose she would be my “mother”… she sent a cousin to fetch me. I was not strong when I was born, but I was sent to the Scouts when I—the closest English word is “puberty”, but that also is not quite it. I became different. The Scouts did not want me, but mother is high in the ranks, so they had to take me. I am a loser, Eddie. I told you that. I am smaller and weaker and not as cunning and I barely made it into the Front Lines. But I like to think I adapt more easily. It probably started in the desert.** Venom pauses, and Eddie wonders if this is painful for him. It’s hard to tell, his voice is so flat. **What else do you want to know?**

“Why don’t you like the M-word?”

**Because I don’t. Next question.**

Eddie rolls his eyes, but doesn’t push. “What’s your shape on your home world?”

**I don’t believe there is any Earth creature similar enough for me to tell you what I looked like, but perhaps a chupacabra with six legs.**

He can’t help it, Eddie chuckles at that.

**Don’t laugh,** Venom snaps. **We are considered quite terrifying by many species.**

“You’re terrifying by human standards, too. How many planets has your species conquered?”

**There were seven last I knew. Nice planets, lots of tall things and good food. You would not like them.**

“No, I bet I would not. Will anyone come to get you, do you think?”

**No. I am alone here, and I always shall be, until the next time the Scouts need to send the young and rowdy to conquer something.**

Something about the flat way he says it just makes it even sadder. Completely alone, without anyone of his own species to talk to? That must be… horrible. Eddie actually feels a little sorry for him.

“What’s your lifespan?”

**I do not know.**

Oh god, that’s even worse. Eddie runs his hand through his hair, not really knowing what to say or what to ask next. He’s quite startled when he lowers his hand and Venom forms a hand-like shape to continue combing through his hair.

**I am not really alone. I have you.**

Eddie kind of feels like giving him a hug. “I’m not very good company,” he replies softly, “But I’ll try.”

**You are excellent company,** Venom snaps back, though the shape keeps moving gently (which is very unlike him). **Even if you do insist that raw is an acceptable substitute for living.**

Eddie smiles. “It’s just easier to get, that’s all. We can’t really keep a pantry full of living people.”

**We could visit the prison sometimes!**

“No, we can’t eat nonviolent offenders, and leaving the murderers and rapists to rot in prison will be better punishment than simply eating them. How about we scout out some CEOs or something?”

Venom wriggles in his bones gleefully. **Yes! Yes! We will feast well and they will fear us!**

Eddie laughs.

The time comes where they have to leave. Venom mutters crankily at having to be in a car, but Eddie doesn’t really mind. The taxi driver drops him off near the conference building, but not actually at it, because there are just way too many people. Eddie saunters in, shows his invitation, and is sent up to the conference room on the third floor.

Venom hates parties. Eddie found this out the first time Dan invited him to an office party for medical staff and various others. Venom had shifted restlessly and kept trying to make Eddie throw his drink and run, but Eddie had promised a nice meal and Venom had settled, still shivering. He’d tried to tell Venom that this would be a similar thing, but the damn parasite hadn’t listened.

So now Eddie steps into the room full of people in evening dress and Venom hisses, **Eddie! Eddie, no! We have to leave, we have to go, this is not a good place for us!**

“You’re with me,” Eddie murmurs, slipping through the crowd to the refreshments table. “No one can see you, I’m with you, and we’ll scout a good meal while we’re here.” He smiles politely at a couple who look at him in confusion, and pours himself some punch.

Venom is quiet for a moment. Then he says, **I do not like when you are right.**

Eddie hides a grin with a quick gulp of punch, scanning the crowd for a likely target.

His latest piece is about healthcare, how this downwards trend of stripping healthcare, Medicaid, and Medicare is going to hurt the entire country. His latest target is the CEO of a health insurance company. The CEO invited him to this, probably to gain Eddie’s favor; he’s a canny bastard. But that won’t help him. Eddie takes a step away from the table, with the intention of milling around with other unattached partygoers, and spots Anne and Dan walking through the door.

“Shit,” Eddie hisses, too quiet for anyone to hear, and turns sharply to walk away from said door. He really doesn’t want Annie to know he’s here; she knows him, she knows what he’ll be doing. And last time he told her about going to a gathering of big shots and getting a good scoop there, she had frowned so hard he shut up and didn’t say any more about that encounter.

He glances back and sees that he’s been spotted. Annie is cutting through the crowd while Dan talks with other people, and while she smiles vaguely at people, she does not stop to talk to any of them. It’s no use trying to run and avoid her. He sighs and stands still.

**Annie!** Venom actually sounds relieved. That stings. **She will help us!**

“We don’t need help,” Eddie mutters into his punch, but then Annie is there and baring her teeth in an approximation of a smile.

“Hello, Eddie,” she says. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Oh, well, I got an invite so I thought I might as well come and sightsee,” Eddie replies with a nervous smile of his own. He knows that look on her face. She’s sensed something.

“Ah. That’s interesting. Marie was the one who sent out invitations, and she never mentioned you.” Her eyes bore into his. He struggles not to shift his weight like a nervous child.

“Well, I didn’t get one from Marie, I got one from Mister—“

“Mr. Brock!”

Here comes the CEO now, all smiles and cold fish eyes. Eddie takes his outstretched hand and does not wince as he squeezes it really hard. “Mr. Johnson. Wonderful to finally meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine!” Mr. Johnson chuckles. “You know, to be honest, I was a little afraid you wouldn’t make it. Come, come, I want you to meet someone.” And, completely ignoring Annie, which makes Eddie and Venom both annoyed on her behalf, Mr. Johnson leads him away with a hand between his shoulder blades, out to the middle of the room. Venom growls in Eddie’s head. Eddie vows to himself that they _will_ eat Mr. Johnson. But not until they’ve brought him down and he’s suffered for what he’s done.

Mr. Johnson suddenly halts, and turns to Eddie. His smile remains in place, but it doesn’t reach any other part of his face. “Well, Mr. Brock, I truly am glad you could make it,” he says, voice low. “But I don’t believe I sent you a plus-one.”

“Oh, no, she wasn’t—that was my friend. Ms. Weying. She’s here with her fiancé.” Eddie returns Johnson’s cold smile with a warm one of his own. “Who was it you wanted me to meet?”

“No one. Follow me, please.” He doesn’t really give Eddie much choice, shoving him along still with that hand on his back. It’s making Eddie’s skin crawl. Or maybe that’s just Venom, restless and angry. Whatever the reason, he really doesn’t like it.

Johnson leads him to the balcony, which overlooks the city. Eddie does his best not to look, focusing instead on Johnson, and the steady presence of Venom. It’s easier to deal with heights, now that he knows Venom can make himself into a fucking parachute. He will never like them, though. But Johnson is looking at the city, smirking. Eddie knows that expression. He’s seen it often. Johnson thinks he can take the world, control it, hoard his money and resources and make the commonfolk pay through the nose for a drop of sympathy.

And he’ll get away with it, too. Him and his billionaire friends. It’s enough to make Eddie want to let Venom loose to devour him in full view of everyone, as a warning. But Eddie does not.

Johnson finally turns back to Eddie. “I’ve read your articles, seen your reports,” Johnson says, “And I’d like to give you some insights into the minds of the elite.”

Eddie smiles politely. “That’s kind of you, Mr. Johnson.”

Johnson continues like he hasn’t spoken. “We’re not monsters, Mr. Brock. We’re business people. We make jobs, we create opportunities.”

“You let people die needlessly.”

Johnson blinks. Eddie keeps his expression pleasant. He probably shouldn’t have said that, and he has no excuses.

“No, not at all,” Johnson replies, with a slight frown. “We help people.”

“By increasing prices so steeply they can’t afford insurance, while you keep wages for your employees so low they can barely afford rent?” Eddie keeps himself light and cheerful, though he wants to glass Johnson with his punch. Venom mutters about how people with so much plastic in their face aren’t that tasty, but he will make an exception for this one. “You aren’t helping anyone but yourself.”

“My company is an excellent place to work!”

“Maybe it is for you and your little cronies, but what about the employees?” Eddie’s grip tightens on his glass, as he struggles to hide his rage. This is going downhill fast, he’ll never get any information from Johnson now, but he sees the haunted eyes of the employees who came to him with evidence, the fury of those whose insurance costs skyrocketed for no fucking reason, the fear on those kids’ faces when they told Eddie what they’d overheard when the doctors told their parents that the insurance wouldn’t cover treatment for the kids—Eddie remembers all of this and he feels so much rage that he just wants to throw Johnson off the balcony. “And even if it were excellent—what about the customers? What about the people you blocked out with your policies and loopholes and scare tactics? The people you withdrew help from when they were dying? No, Mr. Johnson, you don’t help anyone. You charge people for the privilege of existing.”

Johnson grabs Eddie’s arm and shoves him against the rail, leaning in far too close, as his face twists into a furious snarl. “Listen here, fucker,” he hisses, “You better drop the attitude before I sue you to death and beyond. We’re doing what needs to be done. Who fucking cares if those peasants die? There’s always more to take their place.”

Eddie grabs the front of Johnson’s shirt and twists. “ _You_ listen, you pustule,” he snarls, so full of anger that he can’t even feel his own face. “Your attitude is going to be the death of the world. You’re sitting on a throne of corpses. Your money means nothing, do you hear me? _Nothing_. It won’t save you in the end.” He can feel Venom overlay his face, grinning and grotesque. “ **You’re just another piece of meat, just like everyone else**.”

Johnson’s snarl vanishes, replaced by utter terror. Eddie/Venom chuckles, deep and cruel. “ **Think about that, will you? All the wealth in the world won’t change the fact that you are nothing**.” Venom slips away, and it’s just Eddie grinning at Johnson. “So,” he whispers. “What’ll it be? Will you give it up? Will you admit your crimes? Or will you hide behind your politician friends and throw money at the problem? It won’t work. We will expose you no matter what.”

“What are you?” Johnson squeaks, letting go of Eddie.

“We are Venom,” Eddie replies softly.

~

The rest of the party is interesting, because Johnson flees and Eddie gets some excellent gems of information from partygoers. He has his recorder with him, and no one seems to even notice it. He’s friendly and encouraging, and eventually he gets plenty of good dirt, things that will absolutely destroy Johnson. Venom murmurs vicious commentary in Eddie’s head, and Eddie is glad he’s out of whatever funk he’d sunken into. Maybe he just needed to threaten someone.

They leave before the official end, telling Annie and Dan a cheerful goodbye before sauntering out into the night. Eddie doesn’t feel like walking, so he hails a cab. Venom mutters in the back of his head, but doesn’t push forward.

The neighborhood is quiet and the air is gentle as Eddie emerges and walks up to the building door. He hums softly as he goes up the stairs and down the hall.

**Eddie? I want to tell you something.**

Eddie shuts the apartment door behind him and asks, “What is it?”

**Do you promise you will not react unfavorably?**

He frowns faintly. “Well, I mean, I might. But I promise to think about it before reacting.”

**Good enough.** There is silence. Then Venom murmurs, **I told you my species does not have love, but we experience something similar. It happens when we find a… not perfect, but nearly-perfect host. It is rare, as I said. Hosts that perfect are few and far between. But it is strong, and it feels very like your human love.**

Eddie frowns harder. “What are you saying?” he asks cautiously.

**I am saying I love you.**

He almost swallows his tongue. “Oh,” he says faintly.

There is a very awkward silence, as he stands in the middle of the kitchen and thinks about that revelation.

He doesn’t really know how he feels about it. It’s new. Venom is terrifying and vicious and scares him a lot. Venom has saved his life and is always there when he needs someone to talk to. Venom is always hungry and always wants to kill. Venom is learning that there are rules, there are shades of grey, and he is reining himself more often.

Eddie does not love Venom. He’s too scared for that. But being loved is… nice. And he can certainly live with him. And he can agree to compromises. He’s sure he can at least feel friendship for him. And friendship is a kind of love.

**Eddie?**

He gives a tiny smile. “Well. I guess… we can work something out.”

**What does that mean?**

He hugs himself tightly, because he can’t hug Venom. “It means I don’t love you the same, but I do love you in a different way.”

Two strong arms suddenly wrap around him from behind, hugging him tightly. A laugh is surprised out of him, and he feels the press of Venom’s face against his cheek.

**Thank you, Eddie.**

“You’re welcome, Venom.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments = Life, Love, and Happiness


End file.
